For Calendar Year 2025, the Philippine Information and Computing Accreditation Board (PICAB) implemented key initiatives aligned with strengthening accreditation processes, capacity building, and international quality assurance alignment.
Capacity-Building and Training Activities
PICAB successfully conducted several capability-building activities for evaluators and stakeholders, including the Self-Study Report (SSR) Development Workshop, which guided Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the effective preparation of accreditation documents; the Retooling of PICAB Team Chairs, which reinforced leadership, consistency, and rigor in the conduct of program evaluations; and a Briefing on the New SSR Template specifically for HEIs that applied for the 2025–2026 accreditation cycle, ensuring a common understanding and proper implementation of updated accreditation requirements.
Accreditation and Evaluation Activities
During the 2025–2026 accreditation cycle, PICAB conducted program evaluation visits to five (5) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 2025. Together with the three (3) HEIs scheduled for evaluation in the first quarter of 2026, the eight (8) HEIs for the cycle collectively applied for a total of fifteen (15) computing and IT programs.
As of this reporting period, PICAB has accredited a total of twenty (20) computing and IT programs across eleven (11) HEIs nationwide, underscoring its continuing role in promoting quality assurance and continuous improvement in computing and IT education.
International Quality Assurance and Recognition
As part of its internationalization and quality assurance initiatives, PICAB representatives participated in the Benchmarking Program with the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) held on 15–20 June 2025, jointly organized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the MQA. This activity provided valuable insights into regional accreditation frameworks and quality assurance practices, supporting the continuous improvement of PICAB’s accreditation systems.
PICAB’s participation in the Benchmarking Program is due to PICAB’s membership with the Coordinating Council for Accreditation (CCA) under the Office of Institutional Quality Assurance and Governance (OIQAG) of CHED, together with other accrediting bodies in the Philippines. (CHED Memorandum Order No. 46 s. of 2012)
PICAB also hosted a visit from observers representing a Seoul Accord signatory in 2024, during which its accreditation policies, evaluation instruments, and processes were observed and benchmarked against internationally accepted practices. A follow-up visit is scheduled in April 2026 to further assess PICAB’s alignment with Seoul Accord requirements.
In addition, PICAB has been invited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), a signatory member of the Seoul Accord, to send observers to selected accreditation visits of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines that have applied for ABET accreditation.
Building on these engagements, PICAB initiated and continues ongoing preparations for its application as a signatory to the Seoul Accord, including comprehensive internal reviews of accreditation policies, evaluation instruments, and operational processes to ensure full alignment with international standards for computing and IT education.
Overall Impact
The accomplishments for 2025 underscore PICAB’s continued commitment to enhancing the quality and consistency of accreditation practices, strengthening institutional and evaluator capacity, and advancing international recognition of Philippine computing and IT programs.
The Philippine Computer Society Information and Computing Accreditation Board (PICAB) is the national accreditation body for computing and IT programs, established through the collaboration of the Philippine Computer Society (PCS)—the country’s first and oldest organization of IT professionals founded in 1967—and partner organizations including PSITE, PSIA, and CSP.
PICAB is now acknowledged by CHED as a member of the Coordinating Council on Accreditation (CCA) pursuant to CHED Resolution No. 723-2023, affirming its mandate to accredit Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology programs in Philippine higher education institutions.
In 2015, PICAB was accepted as a Provisional Member of the Seoul Accord, a multilateral agreement that promotes international recognition and equivalency of computing and IT education programs. While the standard provisional period under the Seoul Accord is four (4) to six (6) years, PICAB has remained under provisional status for an effective period of eight (8) years, after accounting for the “Stop-the-Clock” period from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of PICAB’s continuing progress and ongoing compliance efforts, the Seoul Accord Signatory Members granted an extension of an additional two (2) years of provisional status effective in 2025. Guided by its mission to achieve internationally recognizable quality in ICT education, PICAB continues to implement a rigorous yet practical evaluation process that integrates academic standards with industry-validated outcomes, supporting the global employability and mobility of Filipino computing and IT graduates.